Bird’s-eye view of Eglin at the air traffic control tower (GALLERY)

Air traffic controllers at Eglin Air Force Base watch planes from the top of the control tower.

NICK TOMECEK | Daily News

By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News

Published: Friday, September 13, 2013 at 05:39 PM.

EGLIN AFB — High in a windowed tower almost 250 feet above the ground, air traffic controller David Mann was keeping a watchful eye on two long runways used by much of the area’s military and commercial aircraft.

Within minutes, Mann guided a C-130 gunship through a few touch-and-go landings, a commercial plane from Northwest Florida Regional Airport taking off and a handful of super-fast F-16 fighter jets leaving for a training mission.

Mann and three other controllers who worked the line with him earlier this week are charged with piecing together the puzzle of the varying aircraft that vie for runway space at Eglin Air Force Base. The controllers watch aircraft coming in from 4 to 5 miles away from their 360-degree view.

EGLIN AFB — High in a windowed tower almost 250 feet above the ground, air traffic controller David Mann was keeping a watchful eye on two long runways used by much of the area’s military and commercial aircraft.

Within minutes, Mann guided a C-130 gunship through a few touch-and-go landings, a commercial plane from Northwest Florida Regional Airport taking off and a handful of super-fast F-16 fighter jets leaving for a training mission.

Mann and three other controllers who worked the line with him earlier this week are charged with piecing together the puzzle of the varying aircraft that vie for runway space at Eglin Air Force Base. The controllers watch aircraft coming in from 4 to 5 miles away from their 360-degree view.